Sept. 20, 2011
Final Stats
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Key serving late in the fifth and final set allowed the Navy volleyball team to rally for a victory over Morgan State Tuesday night at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis. The Midshipmen (5-10) recorded a 26-28, 25-18, 28-26, 17-25, 15-13 win over the Lady Bears (2-13).
Navy compiled a 1-6 record in five-set matches during the 2010 season, but the Mids have picked up wins in each of the three five-set contests they have played so far this season.
"I think the poise we have displayed in fifth sets this year came from the experience this team had in five-set matches last year," said first-year Navy head coach Larry Bock. "I think the players learned a lot going through all of those tight matches a year ago and now they are not freaked out by being in one this year."
Navy tallied the opening three points of the fifth set against Morgan State and soon built a 6-3 lead on a service ace by Katie Bray (Jr., Cary, N.C.). Morgan State responded by recording the ensuing eight points to take an 11-7 advantage. The Mids climbed right back into the set and tied the score at 11 points apiece when Kelsey Owen (Jr., Canfield, Ohio) dropped in a service ace of her own.
Kierra Outlin tallied a kill to give Morgan State a one-point lead, which soon became a 13-11 lead when Outlin served up an ace. Navy sliced the lead in half on a kill by Carolyn Ewert (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif.) and then tied it at 13-13 on a Morgan State attack error. After a Morgan State timeout, Shelby Mass (So., Owings, Md.) gave the Mids their 14th point of the set on a service ace. She then dropped in a tight serve that Morgan State struggled to return over the net. Nangeeshie Plaud did manage to send the ball back to the Navy side of the court, but her attempt floated just barely wide of the sideline to end the two-hour match.
"Shelby is a tough little customer," said Bock. "She made the hard sets tonight and didn't back down. Her serving at the end was the difference. She gave Morgan State some tough serves to handle at a pressure-packed time."
Navy also put together a nice rally to nearly pull out the first set. The Mids trailed by the score of 20-13 in the opening frame, but rallied to take a 24-23 lead. Morgan State scored the next two points to reach set point at 25-24, but the Mids answered back with a kill by Bray that was followed by an attack error by the Lady Bears to give Navy a 26-25 advantage. A service error by Holly Berger (Sr., Claremont, Calif.) tied the set again, then a kill by Natalie Chafeh and an attack error by Bray closed out the first set.
The Mids broke open the second set when a 10-3 run gave them a 17-9 lead.
The third set saw the score tied 15 times and the lead change hands on three different occasions. Morgan State held the largest lead of the set when it built an 18-14 cushion. Navy responded by quickly taking a 21-19 advantage, which was followed by the Lady Bears jumping back in front of the Mids by the count of 24-23. Navy staved off one set point on a kill by Veronica Ffrench (So., Milton, Fla.), then had to survive another one when Outlin posted a kill of her own. That was followed by a Morgan State service error that tied the frame again at 25-25. Ewert knocked down a kill to give the Mids their first chance to win the set, but an attack error by Christy Rapp (Jr., Royal Oak, Mich.) tied the set at 26-26. Ewert posted yet another kill to give Navy a one-point lead, and that led to an Outlin attack error that gave the Mids the 28-26 win in the set.
Morgan State showed no disappointment at losing the third set as they storm out of the gate at the start of the fourth set by scoring the opening 10 points.
"Tonight's match was another lesson learned by our team," said Bock. I think we won the second set because of the run we had at the end of the first set. Then we came out strong at the start of the fifth set because of the momentum and impetus created by Caroline Jacobs (So., Arnold, Md.) and Case Trimble (Fr., Orlando, Fla.) at the end of the fourth set. Those players who were on the floor for us when we made our late run in set number four won the match for us."
Navy's offense notched 58 kills and hit .138 in the match, while Morgan State produced 51 kills and a .109 attack percentage. The Lady Bears dropped in eight service aces to Navy's five, but also committed 11 service errors to the eight tallied by the Mids. Defensively, Navy managed two more digs than Morgan State did (63-61) and the Lady Bears held a slim 13-12 advantage over the Mids in blocks.
Bray led the Navy offense with a career-high 18 kills to go along with a .314 attack percentage, 12 digs and four blocks. It was the second time in the last three matches that she has both recorded a double-double and established a new career high for kills.
"Katie has a great arm swing," said Bock. "Nothing really phases her out there. She continues to put down difficult shots and is getting better all of the time. Tonight was kind of like her party with the way she played."
Also notching a double-double for the Mids was Ewert, who finished the evening with 12 kills and 10 digs. Meanwhile, Maida Kalic' (Sr., Vernon, N.Y.) tallied nine kills and seven blocks, while Berger finished the night with 19 digs.
Outlin led Morgan State's offense with 15 kills, while its defense was led by Erin Cox with 24 digs.
Navy will remain at home this weekend to open its Patriot League season. The Mids will play host to Colgate Friday at 7 p.m. before taking on Bucknell Saturday at 4 p.m.
